


Honey-Sweet

by dark_academia_aesthetic



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Adora (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Best Friend Squad (She-Ra), Canon Compliant, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra (She-Ra) Redemption, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Friends to Enemies, Mutual Pining, POV Adora (She-Ra), POV Catra (She-Ra), Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Short Chapters, i just really wanted to write a catradora fic, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:01:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24905746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dark_academia_aesthetic/pseuds/dark_academia_aesthetic
Summary: Catra was a venomous creature. She hurt people until they wanted nothing to do with her. That’s what Shadow Weaver had always told her, what their instructors had always told her; and for so long, Catra had struggled against it. Tried to be better, likeshetold her she was. But if evensheleft her, then why should Catra fight against her nature anymore?
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Double Trouble (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra), Catra & Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 48





	1. lightning scars

She traced the marks on her arms over and over, lightning scars branching across her skin. It had been months since a new one was added- but she knew that she couldn’t escape for very much longer. Shadow Weaver had scowled at her today as she passed in the halls. Sharp fingers curled around the edge of her mask, she’d leered at Catra as she floated by, and took everything in her not to flinch away. She knew what would happen if she did.

Catra felt, more than heard, when _she_ climbed up to the top of the pile of junk that had maybe once been a building and now was nothing but a hiding spot.

“Don’t remember asking to talk to you,” Catra said, burying her head in her arms so her voice was muffled.

“You did,” she said, crossing over to sit next to her. She was unsteady on her feet- sore after a long day of training that Catra had skipped. _Nothing in their classes that my natural agility can’t provide,_ she’d boasted to _her_ in the locker room after. She’d never mention anything about the way the instructor looked at her, like she was worthless. Like she was nothing. She kept her mouth shut when Lonnie and Kyle snickered, and once _she_ was out of sight Catra showed them her claws. 

Catra didn’t look at her. “Think I would’ve remembered if I did,” she said. Across the twisted cityscape, the sun was setting. She’d never admit it to anyone, but the sunsets were the only thing she liked about the Fright Zone.

“No. You told me. Just not with words.” she replied. There was, as always, honesty saturating every syllable of her words, slipping in between the cracks in her voice to mix with her compassion. It was a sound unique to her- Catra had never met anyone else with that much kindness still left in them. She herself hadn’t spoken pure truth in years, not even to herself. If she had, she wouldn’t have survived to be hiding right now.

“So,” she said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Yes. Desperately. If Catra doesn’t talk about it, it’ll just keep crawling through her mind, tearing her apart until she really is nothing. She wants to, she _needs_ to talk about it-

But _she_ won’t understand. She can’t. She’s gilded, shining, unbreakable as the glass in the windows of tanks. It’s not that Catra can’t tell her what’s going through her mind- it’s that if she did, the words would roll off, not even scratching her surface. They’re on another plane of existence from her. Unfathomable.

“No.”

 _She_ dangled her legs off the edge of the platform, moving a little closer to Catra. “You didn’t miss anything exciting in lessons today. Oh wait- Rogelio tripped and fell. It was kind of terrifying.”

Catra risked a glance towards her, out of the corner of her eye. She really was shining, today- supplies had been shipped in from an outpost last night, so her hair was newly washed and tied up in its usual ponytail. She noticed Catra staring and gave her a small smile, continuing with her monologue as though she hadn’t. “And then Kyle missed every target in blaster training, _somehow,_ I didn’t even think that was possible-”

Catra let the words wash over her, blurring their individuality until all she was listening to was the sound of her voice. Maybe _she_ had been right. Maybe Catra had asked to talk to her, in some inscrutable way only she could understand. Because this moment, at the edge of twilight, with the threat of pain fading and _her_ honey-sweet voice painting over everything in colors as bright as the setting sun, was all that Catra had needed.

She lied, earlier, when she’d thought that the sunsets were the only good thing about the Fright Zone. There was another good thing, and it was only _her_ presence that made living in this hellscape bearable.

 _She_ made it home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked that! I'll likely have a consistent update schedule in the future; I already have some of chapters beyond this one written out, though I'm not sure how long it'll end up being. I'm very busy right now but since the chapters are all fairly short it should be easy enough to stay on top of it. Anyway, let me know what you think in the comments! I live for validation and audience feedback.


	2. venom

So. _She_ was gone, and everything Catra had ever wanted was crashing to the ground in flames.

After getting back from Thaymor, Catra had climbed to her hiding spot and raked her fury across the ground, metal rending with shrieks and sparks as she dug her claws in until they chipped.

She was gone. She was gone, gone, gone, and the sunset had never looked more ugly.

Catra was alone now. She’d always been alone- because if _she_ had left her that easily, then she’d never really been hers. All the laughter, all the gifts, all the whispered secrets- it had meant nothing, and by default that meant _Catra_ was nothing, since that was the only part of her that had ever held meaning. The only part of her that wasn’t bitter and poisoned and _worthless,_ and now it was gone too.

She made her decision that night, with her hands shaking and her nails torn beyond repair. If she wasn’t enough for anyone to stay, she would _make_ herself enough. She’d crush the Rebellion that stole _her_ beneath her feet. She’d make herself invincible, and then it wouldn’t matter if no one loved her, because no one would ever be able to hurt her again.

Even Shadow Weaver’s anger wasn’t enough to shake her resolve. Catra laughed in her face, smug with the new knowledge that soon, she’d hold more power than her tormentor ever had.

Catra was a venomous creature. She hurt people until they wanted nothing to do with her. That’s what Shadow Weaver had always told her, what their instructors had always told her; and for so long, Catra had struggled against it. Tried to be better, like _she_ told her she was. But if even _she_ left her, then why should Catra fight against her nature anymore? 

She was gone. So there was no point in doing anything but drowning herself in venom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how's everyone's day going?


	3. aching muscles

Her muscles ached. They did all the time, these days. She’d thrown herself into training with the sword, because if she didn’t train, then everyone would die. It was a straightforward matter; she wasn’t sure why Bow and Glimmer were looking at her like they were worried beyond words.

“Adora,” Bow said gently. “I know things are stressful right now. But you’ve been training so much lately, you deserve a break.”

Adora had never loved someone like she loved Bow and Glimmer. Her friendship with _her_ had always been more intense, all-encompassing; _she_ had been her everything.

It was different with her two new best friends. They loved Adora and she loved them, but it didn’t hurt when she was too busy practicing to see them for a day or two. Joy bubbled up in her chest when they laughed, not that indescribable ache that she’d felt with _her._

She wasn’t sure why this was the case. Maybe everything was just different in Bright Moon. Freer. Less desperate, with rounder edges than the Fright Zone had.

Adora refocused on the conversation, absentmindedly massaging her sore bicep. “Aww, thanks, Bow! But I’m fine. Hey, I heard the head of the guards is giving a workshop on spear techniques tomorrow after strategy planning- think that’ll be worth it?”

“Adora,” Glimmer said, more firmly than Bow had. “You _need_ to take a break. You can’t keep overworking yourself.”

 _Overwork?_ Sure, she was pushing herself. But that was because if she didn’t, it would catch up to her and she wouldn’t be strong enough to take down the Horde. She told them as much, but neither looked particularly impressed. 

“Look,” Bow said, finally. “We just don’t want you to get hurt, okay? And if you keep pushing yourself, you’ll end up that way.”

They didn’t understand, and she didn’t know how to tell them. Her pain didn’t matter, not right now. She wasn’t just Adora the breakable soldier anymore; she was She-Ra. Invincible and shining in a way she’d never been before. There were people to protect and she had the strength to do it- so really, getting hurt meant nothing.

But Glimmer and Bow were staring at her, again, and she knew that trying to explain any of that would just make them more worried.

Adora smiled, instead. “Don’t worry about me, guys. I’ll be fine.”


	4. ocean waves

Adora just seen _her_ in battle for the first time, and she was very much not fine.

They’d given her the Force Captain badge after Adora had left. It gleamed in the light that reflected off the waves of Salineas. Her hair was frizzy in the sea-salt air, and Adora would never, ever admit to anyone, not even to herself, but she didn’t think she’d ever seen anything more beautiful. Then she’d grinned, sharp enough to draw blood, and it snapped her out of it. They weren’t friends. _She_ hated her, and so Adora wasn’t allowed to think about her like that. Not anymore, not ever. 

That didn’t change how much she’d missed her. How much it hurt to look at her. It just made it easier to pretend.

After the fight was over, Glimmer asked her about the Horde soldier they’d fought, the one who addressed Adora by name and spent her time taunting her. Adora froze up for a full ten seconds before she brushed off the question. The truth was, she didn’t know who the person she’d fought was, the one whose eyes glinted with rage instead of mischief. _She’d_ gone from being Adora’s only anchor to being a wave in the sea of apathetic chaos. 

Scratch that. She was the whole ocean.

Glimmer clearly didn’t accept Adora’s stammered response as the whole story, but she didn’t press any further. For the rest of the night, Adora pushed everything to the back of her consciousness- after all, she couldn't celebrate the Rebellion's victory- She-Ra's victory- if her mind was on the other side of Etheria. It must have worked; neither Bow nor Glimmer questioned her fragile smile or her too-high laugh.

She-Ra took a beating today. Even in her regular body, Adora could feel the aftereffects, the tears in her already-aching muscles. She hugged her arms around herself to hide their trembling and buried her exhaustion with laughter, and to her gratitude, nobody noticed.


End file.
